Effort to improve safety for bikers, pedestrians in Easton

North Easton residents may thank South Coast commuter rail for making walking and cycling safer even if a proposed commuter train never slices through town. One of the state’s technical assistant grants for development along the rail corridor plan is allowing local planners to conduct a bicycle and pe...

North Easton residents may thank South Coast commuter rail for making walking and cycling safer even if a proposed commuter train never slices through town.

One of the state’s technical assistant grants for development along the rail corridor plan is allowing local planners to conduct a bicycle and pedestrian connectivity study.

“The goal is to increase cycling and walking as means of transportation,” Easton Land Use Planner Stephanie Danielson said.

The Planning Department is holding a public meeting on the study at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at the Oakes Ames Memorial Hall. The purpose of the session is to update the public on the project and take input on ways to make the area more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

Danielson and Planning Director Brad Washburn detailed the progress of their work at a recent meeting of the South Coast Commuter Rail Task Force meeting in New Bedford.

Washburn said previous grants the town received had focused on rezoning, open space preservation and traffic circulation in North Easton.

Danielson said the town wanted to emphasize walking and biking as alternatives to driving around North Easton. Use of such a trail could also to ease traffic congestion if a commuter rail station were to be located in North Easton.

Existing conditions in North Easton are not ideal for walkers or cyclers, she said. The town has vague crosswalks, no bicycle lanes and few signs telling drivers to “share the road,” making left turns at intersections especially risky.

“We also have a lot of sidewalks that don’t connect to anything,” she said.

The study is focusing on parts of town that are already being developed, including land around Stonehill College and Five Corners and would include the Massachusetts Department of Transportation –funded “safe routes to school” project to the F.L. Olmsted School.

Other possible improvements include the installation of bicycle racks and a rail right-of-way path from North Easton to Roche Brothers Plaza where another train station is proposed.

“This is not an isolated project. It’s building on a lot of initiates the town has been working on,” she said.

The project would give rail riders more options for using the station and keeping traffic away from the station. It will provide better transportation options within the community and between towns.

The final results of the plan will be released in June.

South Coast Rail Project Manager Jean Fox said the Easton plan aligns with what state transportation officials are trying to do along the corridor of the proposed $1.9 billion train.

The idea was to create a station in North Easton village “where people could get to easily,” she said.

The state has been awarding grants to communities along the preferred Stoughton alternative for extending rail service to Fall River and New Bedford to help plan for areas of development and preservation.